Arab News Japan

Tokyo citizens are fighting back against plans to redevelop a historic green and sporting area in the center of the city.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has approved plans to rebuild Jingu Stadium and Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, but critics say the plan will involve the cutting down of 1,000 trees and the destruction of a popular avenue of gingko trees.

Rochelle Kopp and Naoko Nishikawa are spearheading a people’s movement to roll back the development plans for the 58.5 hectare area and preserve one of Tokyo’s supposedly sacred green spaces.

“The area has been enjoyed by the citizens of Tokyo as a sanctuary for nearly 100 years,” Nishikawa pointed out at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. “And it was protected by nature preservation regulations.”

The Tokyo government claims it will either preserve the gingko trees or relocate them, but Kopp says a similar plan tried when building the adjacent Olympic Stadium failed and many trees died.

Kopp also pointed out that Jingu Stadium, one of the few open-air stadiums used in Japan’s pro baseball leagues and where Babe Ruth once played, was voted the country’s second favorite stadium by fans.

She noted how historic stadiums in the United States, such as Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, have been preserved through renovation rather than rebuilding.

“Jingu Stadium is nearly 100 years old and is in good condition, so we need to preserve this as a landmark, not destroy it,” Nishikawa said.

Developers have plans in place to build a roofed rugby stadium, a new baseball stadium, a hotel, shops and a 190-meter office building after demolishing the two stadiums, cafes, a golf driving range, tennis courts and softball fields.

The project will involve cutting down 1,000 trees and, in all likelihood, destroying the avenue of gingko trees.

Kopp and Nishikawa accuse the Tokyo government and developers of trying to hide the development plan and not give the public a say in the future of the area. As a result, Kopp started a petition, which, to date, has been signed by 87,000 people.

Meanwhile, Nishikawa submitted an official petition document that was signed by 4,672 people. In a survey of Tokyo citizens, nearly 70 percent said they were against the development plan.

Although the plan has been given a green light by the Tokyo government, it has yet to be passed by the environmental assessment panel, who have, unusually, put the matter on hold while investigations are being carried out.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has demanded that full information is disclosed and says the “sympathy of the public” must be taken into account.

The center of Tokyo contains some of the few areas of greenery in the metropolis. Most of this consists of the Imperial Palace grounds, but there are other areas that have escaped the never-ending development that constantly sees Tokyo renew itself.

The Meiji Jingu Gaien area in central Tokyo is famous for its avenue of ginkgo trees, for the Meiji Memorial Museum dedicated to Japan’s 19th century reformist emperor, for the tree-lined public baseball fields that lie in front of the museum, for Chichibunomiya Stadium, the spiritual home of rugby in Japan, and for Jingu Stadium, one of Japan’s few remaining open-air baseball stadiums.